TO FILL A LITTLE SPACE

One of Jesus’ commandments, which is so often ignored, exhorts: “Judge not that you be not judged” (Matthew 7:11). The tendency of so many, unfortunately, is not to withhold judgment but, rather, to jump into conclusions, to rush into condemnation, either of people or situations, long before all the facts are in.

Awareness of this longstanding human proclivity may be among the reasons which led Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidic Judaism in the mid 18th century, to warn, “Let us fall into the hands of the Lord but let us not into the hands of man.” Indeed, God is the only One who can judge accurately any individual with the right judgment.

Many years ago I found a plaque with an interesting inscription. It said: “It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak up and remove all doubt.” How sadly true that so many are too quick in making pronouncements long before they know an issue sufficiently, or have all the necessary data for their conclusions. My advice to such persons is, when you jump into something with both feet, be sure one foot doesn’t go into your mouth! And yet, such is the picture presented by anyone who is too swift in reaching a premature verdict!

If you look for faults in others, you shall surely find them. Likewise, if you search for good in others, it will be there as well. Blaming others for your own sloth or stupidity will never solve any problem; instead, it may ignite a flame where no fire was previously existent.

No relationship between two persons will ever develop or thrive if it is used as a platform to vent the anger and frustration of one individual, on account of unfounded suspicions, and a premature judgmental spirit.

People who believe themselves as always right, will never attract nor develop long-lasting relationships; their impact is minimal or nil! If you so readily question something somebody else says or does, it’s only fair that you also doubt your own conclusions!

Any negative emotions you choose to carry, such as grudges, resentments, an unforgiving spirit, will adversely affect your human relationships, poisoning the stream flowing toward others. You can never justify doing anything wrong just because you do many other things right! It’s better to erase your suspicions quickly once you find them to be baseless! Don’t insist on promoting discord!

In times of difficulty, or in days of relative peace, God wants us to get out of our selves, away from mediocre solutions, giving no heed to easy, negative prescriptions. In this life one will always need to work hard at making things better, because by nature they tend to go the wrong way, bringing damage to many!

Attempt diligently to fulfill God’s expectations and strive to be the mature individual He enables and empowers you to become! Most of the impediments on the road of life are of our own creation. As such, we can also undo them, and provide positive outlets and meaningful pathways leading us to better destinations, while bringing honor to the One worthy of all praise!

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 13th, 2008 at 12:18 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.